Acts 16:7-18

⁷When they arrived at the border of Mysia they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to enter.

⁸So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

⁹There Paul saw in vision during the night a man from Macedonia standing up, pleading with him, “Please come over to Macedonia and help us!”

¹⁰After Paul saw this vision, we immediately made arrangements to go to Macedonia, since we concluded that God had called us to share the good news with them.

¹¹We set sail from Troas and made straight for Samothrace. The next day we went on to Neapolis,

¹²and from there to Philippi, the most important town in Macedonia, and also a Roman colony. We stayed in this city for several days.

¹³On the Sabbath day we went out of the town gates down to the riverside where we thought people would come to pray. We sat down and talked with the women that had gathered there.

¹⁴One of them was called Lydia, who sold purple cloth from the town of Thyatira. She worshiped God, and she listened to us. The Lord opened her mind to what Paul was saying, and she accepted what he told her.

¹⁵After she and all her household were baptized, she pleaded with us, “If you really think that I'm truly committed to the Lord, then come and stay at my house.” She kept on insisting until we agreed!

¹⁶One day when we were going down to the place of prayer we met a slave girl possessed by an evil spirit. She earned her masters a great deal of money by fortune-telling.

¹⁷This girl followed Paul and the rest of us around, shouting, “These men are the servants of Almighty God. They are telling you how to be saved!”

¹⁸She went on doing this for several days. This bothered Paul so he turned around and told the spirit, “I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to leave her!” The spirit immediately left her.